Sanders may testify in Prop 8 case

The first big trial of 2010 takes place Jan. 11 in federal court in San Francisco, where opponents of Proposition 8 will attempt to convince U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker that the measure banning same-sex marriage violates the federal constitution. It's an uphill battle, to be sure. A number of same sex marriage advocates are opposed to pressing the case in federal court at this time for a variety of legal and tactical reasons, but the case moves on.

And coming along with it, apparently, will be San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders.

Last week San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera approached Sanders about testifying in the case, where the city and county of San Francisco have been granted intervenor status. Sanders famously announced he was opposed to Prop 8 at a compelling news conference in 2007.

The mayor , formerly a Prop 8 supporter, emotionally said then that he had changed his mind largely because his daughter is a lesbian in a committed relationship, and several of his staff members are gay also. Video of the news conference has logged more than 115,000 view on YouTube, and turned Sanders into a deeply admired figure among same sex marriage supporters.

Will he testify? A spokesman for Herrera said officially last week that the final witness list has not been settled upon yet. But Gay and Lesbian News Now reported on Wednesday that Herrera, at a fundraiser that morning in San Diego for his reelection, announced Sanders would testify at the trial.

Rachel Laing, the mayor's deputy press secretary, confirmed Herrera spoke to Sanders about testifying and the mayor said he would be "proud" to do so. What he would say is sort of unclear at the moment. "The scope of his potential testimony is still under consideration," Laing said.

Witness lists are due to be filed by Dec. 2, so we could know more by then. Just because a name is on a witness does not necessarily mean they will be called, of course. But if Sanders's name is there, it's a decent sign that a trip to the bay Area might be on his calendar in the near future.